There are two main cultures in The War of the Worlds, the Martian culture and the British culture. In the novel, there are several cultural similarities between H.G. Wells’ Martians and the British Empire of the 19th Century. These similarities include colonialism, superior intellectual skills, and advanced weaponry. In addition, there are also cultural similarities between the human race represented in the novel and the Tasmanian Aborigines dominated by the British Empire in the 19th Century. These similarities include inferior intellectual skills, primitive weapons, and geographic isolation.
The invading Martians are a colonialist culture. Margaret Kohn defines colonialism as “a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another” (Kohn). Assumedly, the Martians are already the dominant culture on Mars. After conquering their own planet, they moved on to Earth to expand their territory farther into the universe. The Martians are a highly intellectual race and far more technically advanced than the human race. As the narrator states, “intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of” (Wells 2). The reason the Martians invade Earth is to colonize. The Martians’ home planet, Mars, is reaching the end of its lifespan. They choose to invade Earth based on its proximity to Mars, warmer climate, and abundant resources. The Martians never exhibit any interest in coexisting with the human race; there is no mention of a peace treaty anywhere in the novel. They plan to dominate the Earth, wiping the human race from existence. Their weapons are highly sophisticated. The primary weapon used by the Martians is the Heat-ray. The heat-ray incinerates everything in its path, leaving a “heap of fiery ruins” (Wells 20)...
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...ectiveness when matched against British rifles. The British Empire attempted to force its cultural values on the indigenous people; however, the Tasmanians could not adapt. The indigenous people were comparative to the red weed in the novel; the diseases that travelled with the British Empire wiped out many Tasmanians. Like the human race in the novel, the Tasmanians only chance of survival was fleeing the oppression of the British Empire.
Works Cited
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The Australian Aborigines society is relatively well known in Western society. They have been portrayed accurately and inaccurately in media and film. Dr. Langton has attempted to disprove common myths about the infamous Australian society, as has her predecessors, the Berndt’s, and National Geographic author, Michael Finkel; I will attempt to do the same.
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Trias Monge, Jose. "The shaping of colonial policy," from: Trias Monge The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. New Haven: Yale University press, 1997. PP 36-51
Discussion Ancient Aboriginals were the first people to set foot on the Australian continent, over 40,000 years or more before colonization (Eckermann, 2010). They survived by hunting and gathering their food, worshipping the land to protect its resources, and ensuring their survival. The aboriginal community has adapted to the environment, building a strong framework of social, cultural, and spiritual beliefs (Eckermann, 2010). Colonisation of Australia began in 1788, when Englishman Captain Cook claimed the land as an empty, uninhabited, continent giving it the classification Terra Nullius and leaving it open to colonization. Eckermann (2010), stated that the English failed to recognise the aboriginal tribes as civilized, co-inhibiters of the land, feeling they had no right to a claim.
Gard, S. (2000). A history of Australia. The Colony of New South Wales. South Yarra: MacMillan Education Australia Pty Ltd.
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society. The Indigenous population were the sub-standard race of humanity with little to no chance of succeeding in life and these attitudes affected the educational choices offered to them (Ray & Poonwassie, 1992). As the superior race, the Anglo-Celtic Australians, considered themselves both intellectually and socio-culturally more advanced than their inferior Aboriginal neighbours (Foley, 2013). As a consequence of these racially and culturally motivated preconceptions, children of Aboriginal descent were considered unskilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” (p 139) education training institutions in 1814. However, these problems only provided sufficient schooling for menial work: Aboriginal male children were prepared for agricultural employment, while girls were trained for domesticated services (Foley, 2013). Thus, as a direct consequence of low expectation for life success, Aboriginal children were offered minimal schooling ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this combination of low expectations and poor academic grounding meant that Indigenous children we...
Bradbury developed the setting of the story similar to Earth as far aslandscape, atmosphere, and people in order to emphasize his intentions. Themartians are described as if they are American Indians at the time of theAmerican Revolution. For example, in the beginning of the story, Bradburydepicts Martians "they had the fair, brownish skin of the true Martian, the yellowcoin eyes, the soft musical voices." The trees, the towns in Mars, and the grassare all described like Earth landscape. Bradbury's Mars is a mirror of Earth.These plots raise moral issues and reflections of how history may repeat itself. Bradbury portrays Mars as humankind's second world, where we may goafter our Earthly existence. In the episode of "April 2000: The third expedition,"Captain John Black's mother said "you get a second chance to live" (pp.44).Lustig's grandmother said "ever since we died" (pp.40). Humans have a naturalfear of death. Some humans may even have a death wish. Bradbury reveals histhought of death through the connection between Mars and Earth. Through Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury warns us of ourfuture. In the episode of "June 2000: And the Moon ve still as bright," CaptainWilder said, "one day Earth will be as Mars is today...It's an object lesson incivilizations. We'll learn from Mars" (pp. 55). Throught the story, Earth man,especially American think that they are superior than the Martian. Earth mancan do anything and knows everyting. However, Bradbury's message is to tellthem it is not true. Earth man, here American people realize there are manythings that they can learn from others.
H. G. Wells, author of the science fiction novel The War of The Worlds, used irony and foreshadowing to portray the theme that humans have a superiority complex that makes them think they have control and that they are the superior race. H. G. Wells is often regarded as the father of modern science fiction.
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society that the Indigenous populations were the sub-standard race of society with possibility of achieving in life in comparison to the white Australian population ( ). The Anglo-Celtic Australians, the white people, judged themselves to be the superior race and considered themselves more intellectually and socio-culturally developed than the Aboriginal members of society (Foley, 2013). As the Indigenous Australians were considered the lowest rung of society, children of Aboriginal descent were considered not skilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” education training institutions in 1814. However, males were only provided the skills to prepare them for agricultural employment, while the girls were trained for household services (Foley, 2013). This denial to education to formal education was largely ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this co...
Watson, I 2002, Looking at you looking at me: Aboriginal culture and the history of the South-east of South Australia, vol. 1, Nairne, South Australia.
Ronald, M, Catherine, H, 1988, The World of the First Australians Aboriginal Traditional Life: Past and Present, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra
To understand cultural imperialism is to understand the diaspora of man across the globe along with the socially darwinistic interactions that follow. Modern homo-sapiens left the plains of Africa a mere sixty-thousand years ago. Today mankind populates six continents hundreds of islands with a seemingly endless ethnic diversity. But what comes of a culture that is antiquated on a global scale that comes to interact with a more advanced civilization. The Americas prior to 1492 where home to millions of indigenous people with wide spread and diverse cultures speaking over two-thousand languages. With western colonization of the Americas came disease and enslavement of the indigenous peoples. The enslavement, genocide and oppression the natives faced under the Europeans lasted for over five hundred years. Even the birth of civilized nations did little to stop the oppression as the United States military famously marched millions of natives to reserves in Oklahoma in what became known as the trail of tears. The innate nature of mankind is rather troublesome and largely counter-productive. We are extremely social animals yet instead of
One of the biggest questions plaguing most political theorist is what will be the source for future conflict in this increasingly globalized world. Samuel Huntington a prominent political scientist in the U.S tried to answer this question in 1996 when he published the “Clash of Civilizations” which discusses the primary source of future global conflicts. In it he mentions religion and cultural differences as being the main source of conflict in the post cold war world. In evaluating Huntington’s theory you must evaluate modern conflicts and global issues of the present and compare them to the ideas held in his theory to see if his beliefs hold up to the substantial weight of the evidence. In critiquing Huntington’s argument you must also be
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